This Crush of Mine
by ToxicEnigma
Summary: Iona must deal with her feelings about a certain instructor. But does she have the guts? Please R/R?
1. Chapter 1

**Well I used to have an account on here. I wrote the story 'Will I ever end this crush?' I lost the login info and never really bothered to recover it. I see that some people really want me to update it. So I will be rewriting that story and hopefully more after that.**

**All known characters belong to Nintendo. Iona is the only character I own.**

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><p>I was jolted awake by the loftwings screeching outside. I groaned but I knew I had to get up and get ready. It was the day of the ceremony and all students had to be there to see who the newest knight would be. I put on my dark blue tunic and looked myself over in the mirror. I won the ceremony three years ago and I would soon graduate from the Knight Academy. Unlike other students, I didn't want to be a knight. I wanted to become an instructor like Horwell and Owlan. I made my way down the steps and outside looking for my friends.<p>

"Iona! Iona! Wait up!" I turned around to see my friend Karane running up to me.

"Hey Karane! I was just looking for you. You ready for the ceremony?" I asked her as she gave me a hug.

"Am I!" She laughed and walked alongside me.

"I'm excited to see who wins. I sure hope it's Link! I have a feeling he's going to do great things in the future." Karane smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"Are you sure that's the reason and not that you wanna see a certain Instructor?" She said smugly and laughed.

"What?" I tried to hide my shock at her question but I knew she had caught me. I started to blush thinking about the certain instructor.

"What are you talkin about Karane? I just want to go to the ceremony to cheer on our friends. That's all! Honest!" I knew my voice sounded a bit higher, hopefully Karane didn't notice.

"Yeah, right. I know you wanna see Instructor Horwell. You always stare at him so hard in class!" She poked me in the ribs and laughed some more.

"Well maybe I'm staring at him in class so much is because he's the teacher and I'm listening to his lectures on animals. His lectures are very interesting. Maybe if you didn't doze off so much, you would know!" She scoffed at me and we made our way over to the dock.

As we approached it we saw Instructor Owlan talking to Link, Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch about today's race.

"So I heard Link's bird was stolen by Groose and hidden up near the waterfall." Karane told me.

"You don't say. Figures Groose would do that. He has always been jealous of Link." She nodded and we went back to listening to Instructor Owlan talk about the rules of the race.

"I have attached a small statuette to this bird, who I will then release to the skies. On my signal dash and dive off the ledge. Once you are in the air, mount your Loftwing. Remember to promptly call your bird once you dive off the edge. Whoever catches the bird and claims the statuette will be this years champion. Those are the rules. Simple enough, but does anyone need to hear them again?" All four of the racers shook their heads no.

"Excellent. As well as you know, today's champion will graduate to the next class, bringing him one step closer to knighthood. He will also receive a gift from the young woman chosen to play the role of the goddess in this years ritual. Today is a special day for many reasons, but it is also the 25th anniversary of our fine institution. To celebrate this occasion, today's champion shall also receive his gift high atop the Statue of the Goddess. I hear the young woman performing the role of the goddess this year has crafted the gift herself. And as you all well know, the role of the goddess this year will be performed by... The lovely Zelda! Let's see your finest flying out there. Show me just how hard you've been practicing. Also, I want to see good, clean flying out there. Anyone caught interfIonag with other riders will answer to me!" Instructor Owlan said sternly.

"That goes double for you, Groose!" Head Master Gaepora yelled. Groose jumped back by his shouting. Karane and I tried to stiffle our giggling at him.

"Alright gentlemen, line up. At my command, the competition will begin!" The four of them lined up and prepared to run off the ledge.

"GO!" Instructor Owlan shouted and the guys were off! Each one running and jumping over the edge of Skyloft. Calmly calling out to their loftwing and soaring off into the sky. The race was on.

"Go Link! Beat Groose! Get that bird! Do it for Zelda!" Karane cheered and jumped up and down.

"Karane! Calm down!" I laughed at her. She ignored me and started to jump up and down waving her arms and cheering for Link.

"I like her enthusiasm. It's very uplifting." I froze and felt a chill up my spine. I knew that voice. Tv chat voice that brings a blush to my face and weakness to my knees. Karane turned around and smiled a big cheeky grin.

"Why hello Instructor Horwell! I'm glad you like my cheer leading! This little rain cloud is just a downer! Aren't ya Iona!" She elbowed me in the ribs. I narrowed my eyes at her and turned to our instructor.

"Yup, that's me. Little miss unenthusiastic" I managed a dry laugh and a small smile. I don't think I've ever seem Instructor Horwell frown.

"Oh I don't believe that Iona! You're almost 18! Soon you will graduate and become a knight! You should be excited and happy!" His happiness made me smile and he patted me on the shoulder.

"You're right Instructor Horwell! As always!" Karane spoke loudly and throwing her arm around my shoulder. He smiled and walked over to Instructor Owlan and Head Master Gaepora to talk about the race.

"Oh Iona! You're blushing so hard!" She shouted and laughed. I covered her mouth with my hands and looked around to see if anyone had heard.

"Will you shush your big mouth!" I hissed at her.

"Hey girls!" We heard a rather cheerful voice and turned to see Zelda coming towards us.

"Heya Zelda! You look great as the Goddess!" Karane gushed over her.

"Aw why thank you!" She smiled sheepishly and twirled to show us her outfit.

"Do you think Link likes it?" She asked quietly.

"Oh yeah of course he would! What guy wouldn't?" I said calming my friends nerves. Zelda let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Yeah true! Well I'm going to go get ready at the Statue! See ya later!" She waved at us and ran off towards the Goddess Statue. The winner would be returning soon.

"She's so lucky to be so pretty!" Karane sighed with a tiny hint of jealousy.

"Oh you look pretty too Karane! At least you don't look like me." I kicked a stone that was on the ground and felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh Iona! You always sell yourself short! You are a very beautiful young lady! I'm surprised you aren't fighting the boys off with a bat!" Instructor Horwell said with a squeeze of my shoulder.

"You're very pretty too Karane!" He added quickly. Karane smiled a polite smile and thanked him.

"I must go now though. I need to go take care of Mia before it's time to let her out for the night." He smiled and started to walk off.

"But, Instructor! Don't you want to see who wins?" Karane called after him.

"Oh, um, yes. I'll hear about it later I'm sure! Good day ladies!" He said and rushed off.

"Well that was kind of odd." Karane said and turned around back towards the ledge.

"Yeah I guess, but Mia gets pretty crazy once 5pm hits." I shrugged and turned around after watching Instructor Horwell race up the steps to the dorm.

I knew Karane's teasing would know no bounds now.

**So I hope to make this version much nicer. I read over my last one and decided to make some changes. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Nintendo owns all known characters. Iona is the only one I own.**

"Link won! Link won!" Karane and I jumped up and down and cheered for our friend.

"Good thing too! I would have lost it if Groose won!" Karane said with a balled up fist and punched the air.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." I nodded my head and laughed.

"If Groose had won, I don't think Skyloft could handle the weight of his ego." Karane started to laugh but quickly stopped herself when Owlan began to talk to Link

We couldn't hear what he said but we watched as Link went to the Goddess' Statue to progress with the rest of the ceremony.

"Well, want to go back to the dorm? I want to do your hair." Karane said and grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the dorm.

"I guess I have no choice." I said with a defeated sigh and let myself get dragged away. We opened the door to the second floor and saw Pipit wandering around.

"Hey Pipit!" I called and waved to him.

"Hey Iona! Uh, Hi Karane!" He slightly blushed at Karane.

"Heya Pipit!" She blushed and looked down. They both looked anywhere but each other to point it got awkward.

"Should I leave you two alone?" I asked with a giggle. Karane punched my arm and looked at me sternly.

"No! Well, um, we'll talk to you later, Pipit! I'm giving Iona here a much needed makeover!" She looked at me evilly. I giggled nervously and was dragged down the hall.

"But, Karane! I don't want a makeover! I just want to go and study for class!" I whined as we walked over to my room.

"Oh please, Iona! Your hair is so long! I wanna braid it! Oh and maybe some makeup! Or maybe we should cut your hair!" Karane looked at me excitedly. My eyes widened at the thought of her cutting my hair.

"No! Please no, Karane! I will scream!" I shouted and planted my feet firmly on the ground.

"Please! Please! Please!" Karane begged. I continued to hold my ground not letting her pull me any closer to her room.

"What in Goddess' name is going on out here!" Instructor Horwell angrily shouted as he whipped his door open. I froze and my mouth felt dry when I saw he was flushed and sweaty.

"Instructor? Are you okay?" Karane looked very worried at our instructor.

"Yes, sorry for shouting. I was just chasing Mia around. It's almost 5pm! And she's hiding under the bed. I can't reach her. If I don't get her out soon it will be bad news for everyone!" He sounded worried and a bit scared.

"Iona can get her out!" Karane pushed me towards him causing me to lose my footing and fall forward. Luckily Instructor Horwell caught me and helped me up. He held me a little longer than necessary and looked at me with such concern.

"Iona! Are you okay?" I looked up at him and blushed.

"Oh, um. Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for catching me." I stood myself up glared at Karane.

"Are you really able to get Mia out from under the bed?" Horwell sounded desperate.

"Um, yeah. I can. I'm small enough to fit under the beds." He gave me a grateful smile and led me to his room. He closed his door to keep Mia from running and hiding somewhere else. I got down on my hands and knees and looked under the bed. Sure enough, there she was. She mewed at me and I sighed.

"What time is it Instructor?" I asked as I started to crawl underneath his bed.

"It's almost 4:45pm!" Horwell sounded even more worried.

"Oh Iona! Be careful please! Don't hurt yourself under there!" His concern made me blush. I pushed myself a little farther under his bed.

"Come here Mia!" I said in a soft voice and reached for her. After finally getting her I pulled myself and Mia out from underneath.

"Here you go sir." I said and handed her up to him. He set Mia on the bed and reached down to help me off the ground.

"Thank you so much, Iona! I really owe you one!" He gave me a tight hug.

"I need to take her outside right now. Again, thank you! You're truly an amazing person." He picked up Mia and opened his door. I followed him out of his room and I made my way over to mine. I opened the door softly and turned around to see Karane standing in my room with her arms crossed.

"Well, well, well. How was that? Getting to be in the Instructors room? You all hot and bothered now?" She poked and prodded me.

"Shut up Karane! Someone might hear! Please! I don't want everyone to know that I have a crush on Instructor Horwell!" I begged her and threw a pillow at her.

"Okay! Okay! I'll be quiet! Sheesh! But, only if you let me braid that hair of yours!" She said with a sly grin. I threw my hands in the air and let out a loud sigh.

"Fine! Braid my hair! If it'll keep you quiet for once!" I huffed and sat on my chair crossing my arms. Karane clapped her hands together and grabbed a brush and some ribbon.

Once she finished brushing and braiding she held up a mirror for me to see. It was nothing fancy, but it did look nicer than my usual pulled back style.

"I guess it looks alright." I said in a fake apathetic voice. Karane lightly smacked me on the shoulder and smiled at me.

"Well that was fun! But if you excuse me I would like to study." I got up and opened the door for Karane. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"But, I want to put some makeup on you!" Karane said in a whiny voice.

"Why would I want to wear makeup? It's almost dinner time?" I groaned at her.

"That does seem like an odd time to put that kind of stuff on. Besides, you look lovely without it." I jumped a foot when I heard Instructor Horwell behind me.

"Oh but Instructor Horwell! She'll look a bunch better! I mean look at her hair! It looks so much better now, doesn't it?" She got up and turned me around to show him my braided hair.

"Yes it is a nice style. Did you braid it, Karane?" I felt Instructor Horwell touch my hair and I could feel myself tense up. I glared at Karane and mouthed the words 'You're dead' at her. She smiled slyly at me.

"But, I stand by my word. Iona looks lovely without makeup. You both do. Don't cover up your natural beauty ladies." I turned around to look at Instructor Horwell.

"Thank you sir. See, Karane, he knows what he's talking about. Now, like I said I would like to study." I pushed her out of my room and smiled at her.

"Have a nice day." I closed the door on them both and leaned my back against it. I heard Karane huff and Instructor Horwell chuckle and walk away.

"Well I'm eating dinner in 20 minutes! I'll knock on your door when I'm ready!" Karane said through the door.

"Whatever! Fine!" I said with a defeated sigh.I walked over to my desk and sat down. I looked at my notes for a few mintues and slammed my head down on the desk.

'Ugh! I can't focus at all! I have to get over this crush! He's a teacher! He's so much older than I am.$ Wait, I think he's only like 24. I'm almost 18. That's only a 7 year difference! No. It's still too much of a gap! Besides, he'll only see me as a student. Even when I graduate. He's probably already seeing someone. Some attractive well put together woman.' I heard a knock on my door and got up and opened it.

"Hey Iona!" To my surprise it was Fledge. He looked a bit worried though.

"Heya Fledge! Something wrong?" I asked concern filling my voice.

"Didn't you hear? Zelda is missing!" My eyes widen and I my jaw dropped.

"Oh no! What about Link? I saw them both go to the statue today!" Fledge nodded.

"Yeah Link is okay. But no one knows where Zelda is!" He looked down at the ground and sighed.

"Poor Link! His best friend gone missing right in front of him." I leaned against the door frame and looked up at the ceiling. We stood there silently as I registered the news.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you at dinner Iona." Fledge waved goodbye and Karane walked over to me.

"So you heard I guess." She looked at me.

"Yeah, it's so sad. I hope they're both alright." She nodded and looked a little cheered up.

"Well it's Link and Zelda we're talking about! I'm sure they're both fine! Lets just get some food." She linked arms with me and we walked down to the dinning room.

We got our food and made our way over to a table where Fledge and Pipit were sitting at.

"Hey guys! You don't mind if we eat with you do you?" Karane asked with a flirty smile directed mostly to Pipit.

"No. Not at all!" They both smiled and made room for I was cutting up some of my food I felt Karane nudge me and nod towards the doorway.

Instructor Owlan and Instructor Horwell entered the dinning area. Both made their way to a nearby table and talked about the recent news.

"It's sad what has happened today." Instructor Owlan said taking a bite of his food.

"Yes, very sad. But, I'm sure Zelda will return safe and sound. Plus Link is out there looking for her. He's going to become quite the hero someday!" Instructor Horwell always seems to have a bright smile on his face no matter the situation. I smiled and took a bite out of my food.

"Iona, something on your mind?" Pipit asked me.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about Link and Zelda. I know they'll be fine!" I said with a bright smile.

"That's the spirit!" Pipit smiled.

"Well I'll see you guys later. I've got stuff I need to do." I cleaned up my dishes and went up to my room.

It's been about an hour since dinner and I decided I would take a bath. I got my bathing items together and walked out of my room.

I really hoped no one was in there right now. I tried the handle and to my luck it was unlocked.

"Excuse me!" I heard a loud voice shout as I walked around the corner.

"I'm so sorry! The door was unlocked! I thought no one was in here!" I dropped my stuff and covered my eyes.

"It's okay Iona." I froze when I heard his voice.

'Oh no! I walked in on Instructor Horwell!' I felt my face and the rest of my body blush.

"I'm so sorry Instructor Horwell!" I kept my eyes shut and got down on the ground trying to pick my stuff up. I heard the sound of him getting out of the water.

"It's okay Iona. You may open your eyes." I slowly opened my eyes and I felt like they would pop out of my head. He had wrapped only a towel around his waist. Still freshly covered in water and smiling sheepishly at me.

"I should have made sure I locked the door. Lets, uh, keep this between us okay? " He smiled nervously.

"Oh yes. I won't tell a soul, sir!" He gave me a squeeze on the shoulder and gathered his stuff and left. I set my stuff down and walked over to the door and locked it. I walked back towards the bath and looked at the water.

'I should empty the water before I take my bath. But I don't want to be wasteful.' I took my robe off and got into the bath. The water was still hot. I relaxed and started to wash myself. I felt somewhat dirty, not just because of the used water but because I was using the person I've been daydreaming over's used bath water. I smiled though and continued to wash. Thinking of what it would be like to take a bath with Instructor Horwell. The water soon cooled down and I had to get out. I released the water and went back to my room to change for bed.

After getting to my room I brushed my hair and changed into some shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I got my stuff ready for class the next morning and got into bed.

I laid there thinking about what I had done. I had almost seen him naked and I washed myself with the water he used.

What only felt like just a few minutes of sleep, I was awoken by a knock on the door. I groaned but got out of the bed to see who could be bothering me so late at night.

'Ugh, I swear if it's Karane I'm gonna put a pillow over her face!' I opened the door and was shocked at who was there. Instructor Horwell looked nervous standing at my door in only sleeping pants and his hair a bit messy.

"In-Instructor Horwell? Is something wrong?" I couldn't think of any other reason why an Instructor would be at my door.

"I needed to talk to you Iona. It's very important! Can we please talk in my room?" He said in a hushed and hurried voice.

"Oh, yeah. No problem." I shut my door and walked over to his room and sat on his bed. He closed and locked the door behind us. He came and joined me on his bed.

"Well Iona, it's about when you saw me in the bath earlier. I just kept thinking about it. I need to tell you, I'm in love you." He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it.

"Wh-what?" I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. Instructor Horwell confessed his love to me.

"Yes Iona. I love you. I have always loved you. You're my favorite student and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. You're so smart and I just can't stop thinking about you!" He pulled me into his lap and wrap his arms around my waist. He pressed his forehead against mine and looked deep into my eyes.

"I-I love you too Instr-" He placed a finger against my lips cutting me off.

"Please, Iona. Just call me Horwell." He smiled at me and dragged his finger down my lips and throat.

"I love you too, Horwell." I smiled at him and he put a hand on my cheek. We looked into each others eyes before he finally brought his lips close enough to mine. I ran my fingers through his silky hair and tugged on it softly. I heard him growl lowly in his throat. He softly tossed me onto his bed and crawled on top of me. He leaned down and started to suck and nip my neck. I couldn't hold back the moan but he placed his hand over my mouth.

"Shhh, Iona. We don't want to wake anyone up." He rolled his hips in between my legs and I tried to keep from moaning but what he was doing was torture. I felt him smirk against my neck and he lifted his head to look at me.

"Iona, you'll get us caught. Do I need to get a gag for that pretty mouth of yours?" He asked running his finger over my mouth.

"Or should I use something else to keep your mouth busy?" He ran his hands between my thighs and pulled me up against his chest.

"Because either way, I want to see how far those lips of yours will stretch." He dropped me back down on my back. I've never seen this side of Horwell before. Aggressive and talking dirty to me. I felt like I was on fire. He was kissing down my body and got to the top of my shorts. I could hear him moan softly.

"You're so soft, Iona. So perfect. I know exactly what to do to you." He smirked at me and began to pull my shorts down.

"Iona! Iona! Iona!" I shot up and looked around. I was in my own room and Karane was the one shouting my name. I sighed and looked around. All a dream. How cruel of myself.

"Yeah Karane?" I rubbed my eyes and could feel the affects of last night.

"It's almost time for class." She shouted at me and pushed my shoulder.

"WHAT? What time is it?" I jumped out of bed and ran over to my vanity.

"It's almost 9am!" I pushed her out of my room nd quickly put my tunic on. I grabbed my stuff and we rushed down the steps to the classroom.

"You two were almost late!" Pipit whispered to us.

"Yeah we know. Did we miss anything though?" I asked as we sat down and got our stuff out.

"No, Instructor Horwell hasn't come in yet."

"Well that's lucky for us!" Karane sighed with relief.

"Yeah I know. I would have been sad if I missed any of Instructor Horwell's lectures." I said with a smile.

"I hope you aren't being sarcastic, Iona." Instructor Horwell said behind me as he walked into class.

'Do I summon him somehow by embarrassing myself?' I slammed my head down on the desk.

"Oh, drama queen." Karane pushed me and I sat up. I tried to focus on Instructor Horwell's lesson about animals, but I kept thinking about my dream.

'Uh oh. I should stop this. I'm going to get myself in trouble if I don't stop thinking about it!' I looked up at Instructor Horwell and he smiled at me and continued on with his lecture.

'Focus on something else. Like tomorrow! My birthday! I'll be 18 and will graduate soon.' I smiled and listened to the rest of lecture.

**How's it looking guys?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nintendo owns all known characters. I only own Iona.**

Finally the class was over and the weekend started. It seemed my friends were more excited for my birthday than I was.

I was excited though. Getting to spend the day doing nothing and relaxing with my friends. I didn't know what to do with myself at the moment though. I had finished all my classwork and my chores were finished.

I was getting bored just sitting around my room. 'Maybe I should see if Karane wants to go for a walk.' I decided that all the torture she's been putting me through the past few days I would get her back. I sneaked down the hall towards her room and peeked inside. What I wasn't expecting was to see Karane and Pipit in an intense make out session. I covered my mouth to keep them from knowing I had seen them. I started to back away when I bumped into someone and causing us both to fall over. Instructor Owlan didn't look too happy, but did he ever? He helped me stand up and raised his eyebrow at me. I grimaced and started to explain myself quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Instructor Owlan. I wanted to sneak up on Karane, but I see she's kind of busy. I'm so sorry." I bent down to pick up the papers I had knocked out of his hands and handed them back to him.

"Sneaking up on a friend, Iona? That doesn't seem like you. It's a lovely day outside. Go enjoy it." Instructor Owlan nodded his head at me and turned away, heading downstairs to the classroom.

'I guess he's right. I'll go visit Peatrice.' I went back to my room and grabbed some rupees. The bazaar was a nice place but Peatrice always looks bored. Just as I was heading in, Link came running out.

"Link! You're okay!" I gave him a quick hug and he smiled at me. He was carrying a lot of bottles and he started putting them into his pouches.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I wish I knew the same for Zelda though." Link said sadly. He looked so worried, I gave him another hug.

"I'm sure she's fine. You are two of the strongest people I know." He stood up straight and nodded his head.

"You're right! But guess what! I got to see the surface. It's really amazing!" Link looked excited about telling me of his recent discovery.

"The surface? I thought it was only a legend that it existed!" I couldn't believe how lucky Link was. Always going on adventures and seeing new things.

"I know! Pretty crazy! But here, you can have this. I got it from down there." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small amber piece and handed it to me.

"Wow! This is really pretty. Thank you, Link!" I gave him another hug and he waved goodbye.

"I'll see you around Iona!" Link turned to the dock and got ready to jump over the edge.

"Good luck, Link! Bye!" I waved and called after him.

'Such a great guy!' I walked into the bazaar and walked over to Peatrice's stand. When she spotted me she looked so relieved.

"Hey Iona! I'm so glad you came by! I get so bored here!" She groaned and pulled a chair over for me. We chatted for a little while about school and her stall.

"So I heard you like Instructor Horwell." I almost spit out my water when I heard her say that.

"What?" I tried again for my voice to not sound high pitched, but it betrayed me again.

"Karane may have mentioned something to me." She looked at me with a sly grin.

"Well, it seems I have to kill her now." I laid my head on the counter and groaned.

"Well that's not nice. I won't tell anyone! I promise." She batted her eyelashes and held out her pinky. I rolled my eyes and locked my pinky with her.

"Besides, it's not that bad. I'm sure every girl on this island has thought about him or Owlan. Man those two are something else." Peatrice licked her lips and I just shook my head.

"Sorry, I don't mean to step on your property." I looked at my friend in disbelief.

"You are insane. But you also need to shut up. I don't want everyone to know how I feel about him. It's kinda creepy." I raised my eyebrows at her as she scoffed me.

"Well don't you worry, Iona! Tomorrow is your birthday! You'll have an awesome time! You'll be 18, you'll graduate soon, and become a knight!" She patted my back to reassure me.

"But, I don't want to be a knight I want to be an Instructor at the school." I slumped in my chair and looked at her giving her fake puppy eyes.

"Really? Why? I heard being a knight was so much fun." Peatrice looked confused. She graduated the Knight Academy a year before me. She never could become a knight though, she had to take over her family's stand when her mother got sick.

"Well yeah, I'm sure it is. But I would rather teach. Instructor Owland and Instructor Horwell are really inspiring and make the classes enjoyable. I want to be like that too." Peatrice shrugged her shoulders. I saw the clock on the wall read 4:40pm. I knew it was almost dinner time and Karane would be looking for me.

"Well I gotta go Peatrice. Karane and I are going to go and eat dinner soon. See you tomorrow!" I gather my things and headed towards the exit. As I walked past Rupin's stand something caught my eye.

"Why hello Iona! I see something has caught your eye." It was like he read my mind.

"Yes, the green carved necklace. May I see it?" He handed me the necklace and it looked rather familiar. It reminded me of the necklace that the Instructors wear.

"How much is this? I would like to buy it." I asked He put the necklace into a black satin bag and handed it over to me.

"How about 50 rupees?" He said smiling at me.

"Sure." I handed him the rupees and took the bag. As I walked back to the dorm I felt the sudden wash of shoppers remorse.

'Why did I buy this? I don't wear jewelry. Maybe I should give it to Instructor Horwell?' I knew that was a stupid thing to think.

I made my way down the hall and into my room. Before fully going in I looked across to Instructor Horwell's door. If I was going to do it, might as well be now. I scribbled a quick note and attached it to the bag. I sneaked over to his room and knocked on his door. When I didn't hear anyone reply I tried the handle and luckily it was unlocked. I poked my head in and looked around. No one was in there except Mia napping peacefully on a chair. I slipped into his room and softly closed the door. I set the bag on his desk and glanced around his room before making my exit. Just as I reached the door I heard voices coming closer to it.

"Well Owlan I just don't know what to do. It's been eating away at me." Instructor Horwell sounded defeated. I looked around in a panic.I didn't know what else to do so I quickly made my way over to his bed and hid underneath. As soon as I was underneath the Instructors walked in and closed the doors behind them.

"Well what do you mean Horwell? Don't know what to do about stopping it or don't know how to progress with it?" Instructor Owlan said sarcastically. He walked over to Instructor Horwell's desk and sat down on the chair.

"Both! I know I should end it, but there's a part of me that wants to wait until I am allowed to do it." Instructor Horwell paced his room and walked over to his desk too.

"Did you put this here?" Instructor Horwell asked.

"Put what? The bag? No." Instructor Owlan said and got up and walked towards the door.

"All I can say is if you want to do it, do it. There will be some people who wont like it and may tell you to stop. Will you be able to handle that?" Instructor Owlan asked his friend.

"It's not me I'm worried about in this situation." Instructor Horwell leaned against the desk and sighed.

"Oh. Well I'll let you think about this. I'll see you downstairs when dinner is finished." Instructor Owlan replied and headed out the door, closing it behind him. I saw Instructor Horwell's feet come towards the bed and I pressed myself up against the wall.

"I wonder what this is and who it's from." I heard the bag open and Instructor Horwell pull the necklace out.

"Oh, my. This is a beautiful necklace. Who could have given this to me?" I heard him opening the paper and read it softly to himself.

"'Dear Horwell, I saw this and thought of you. I hope you like it. Sincerely, A friend.' Hmmmm. I wonder who that could be." Instructor Horwell got off his bed and went over to his clothing cabinet. He stood there for a bit before finally heading to his door and leaving. I waited a few minutes before leaving. I crawled out from underneath and softly made my way to the door and opening it quietly. I knew I had to do it fast before someone saw. I opened and closed the door quickly and I ran to my room. I went to my clothing cabinet and changed out of my dusty tunic and put on some simple clothes. I knocked on Karane's door and walked in. She was laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling with a dreamy look on her face.

"Hey you ready to eat?" I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Yup! Starving!" She got off her bed and we walked out her door. I wondered how long it would be before she told me about her and Pipit.

"Well I bought a necklace at the bazaar today. I don't know why I did it, so I gave it away." I stuttered as we walked into the dining room.

"Well, who did you give it away to?" She looked at me questioning my reason.

"I bet you can guess." I pressed my lips together. Karane's mouth dropped open realizing who I meant.

"I bought it because it reminded me of his necklace, but then I thought that was a stupid reason. So I thought well why not just give it to him? So I thought pop in his room, leave it on his desk, and leave. But before I could change my mind, I heard Horwell and Owlan coming so I panicked and hid under his bed!" As we got to our table I noticed Horwell and Owlan at a near by table eating.

"Oh no, Karane! He's wearing it!" I couldn't believe my eyes and neither could Karane.

"Well it's pretty. " She said with a reassuring smiled. I ran my hands over my face and felt myself get dragged away by her.

"It'll be okay, Iona! Did you say it was from you?" I shook my head no.

"Well he's probably wearing it to see if someone will fess up and tell him they got it for him." I nodded my head in agreement.

"So you excited for tomorrow?" Karane asked me as we finished up our meal.

"Yeah, I guess so." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Are we still going to go and swim and have the party?" She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Party? I thought we were only going swim?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Oh please Iona! Pretend you didn't hear that part! It was going to be a surprise. I was going to take you swimming while Peatrice set up the party. Please, don't get mad or upset!" Karane begged me and grabbed my shoulders shaking me.

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" I laughed and brushed her hands off my shoulders.

"I'll keep quiet. Yeah, we'll still go swimming tomorrow. But we gotta be careful." I looked around to be sure no one could hear me and lowered my tone.

"I still don't know how to swim." I said in a hushed tone.

"Well I guess tomorrow is a perfect time to learn!" Karane said with so much excitement I thought she might burst. I couldn't hold back the grimace at reminding her that I couldn't swim. I shook my head and got up to head up to my room.

It was hard to fall asleep. I was excited for tomorrow now learning about a party.

'Oh Horwell, why yes you can help me learn to swim!' I thought to myself as I got my swimming clothes ready for the next day. I danced around my room quietly humming to myself.

"Oh yes! Of course I would love to dance with you sir!" I hadn't realized I said this outloud until I did a twirl and nearly jumped out of my skin. Why? Why is it always him? Horwell was standing in my doorway with a raised eyebrow. I hadn't even realized I left my door open.

"Good evening Iona. A little late night dancing I see?" He smiled at me.

"Yeah, I can't sleep. I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. I'm going swimming with Karane for my birthday." I rambled off to him.

'Oh well, at least he doesn't know it was him I was thinking about dancing with.' I tried to fake a smile, but I'm sure it looked forced.

"Will there be a gathering for you as well? If so, that's no proper way to dance." Instructor Horwell entered my room and looked around.

"Karane mentioned something about a party, but I don't think there will be much dancing. At least I hope not now." I laughed at my own embarrassment.

"Well if you want I could always teach you. Surprise everyone by showing them up. But it is rather late. Goodnight Iona." He bowed his head and made his way over to his room.

'Odd. I wonder what he was still doing up.' I continued to dance around my room and humming to myself.

"I'm not that bad of a dancer, am I?" I said softly to myself and stopped to think.

"Well you aren't the best." A voice said behind me. Again I felt myself almost jump out of my skin.

'JEEZ! Is everyone trying to scare me to death tonight?' I turned to see who it was this time and it was Instructor Owlan.

'Oh great.' Instructor Owlan always looked stern, but it was hard to take him seriously when he's holding a bunch of planters.

"Um, hello Instructor Owlan. I hope I didn't wake you." As I said that a stuffed animal hit me in the head.

"You woke me up Iona! Remember our walls are just screens!" Karane growled from the other side.

"Oops. I'm sorry! I'm sorry to you too Instructor." I said in a quieter tone and bowed my head.

"It's fine Iona. But it's best you get some sleep." He nodded his head at me and went to his room.

'What's with these teachers? Always staying up late and then telling us to go to bed early.' I scowled and closed my door. I decided that it was best to just get into bed.

'Hopefully tomorrow will be better.' I climbed into bed. Before finally drifting off to sleep I imagined Horwell and I dancing around his room together.

**So how's it coming along?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nintendo owns all known characters. I only own Iona. **

I was woken up by a couple of pillows hitting me over and over again. The sounds of giggling getting much louder as I started to wake up.

"Wake up Iona! It's time to go!" I slowly opened my eyes and looked around my room and saw Karane and Peatrice standing over me with pillows in their hands. I let out a groan and propped myself up on my elbows and shook my head.

"Jeez guys. Did you have to hit me so hard?" I rubbed my head and got out of bed. I tossed another pillow at the both of them.

"It was the only way to get your lazy butt out of bed!" Peatrice laughed at me and tossed all the pillows onto my bed.

"Yeah! It's time to go swimming miss birthday adult!" Karane grabbed my wrists and spun me around my room. She let go of me and I stumbled out my door. I tried to catch myself but the floor did that for me.

"Happy Birthday Iona!" Fledge said coming over to me and helping me up.

"Thank you Fledge! For the birthday greeting and helping me up. I have a couple of crazy people in my room right now." I pointed over my shoulder to my room. Fledge looked over my shoulder to see Karane messing with my closet and Peatrice jumping on my bed.

"Yeah you do! You should get some of Instructor Owlan's pest control!" We both started laughing and he gave me a hug. He waved goodbye and headed downstairs. I went back in my room and raised an eyebrow at Karane and her mischievous smile.

"What?" I looked at through narrowed eyes and she pulled something from behind her back.

"Here! Wear this when we go swimming!" She handed me a two piece swimsuit. I raised my eyebrow again and shook my head.

"Are you serious? I want to wear this one." I went to my clothing cabinet to pull out my favorite swimsuit, but I couldn't find it.

"Oh, are you looking for this?" I turned around to see Peatrice had my one piece swimsuit and my letter opener.

"No! I like that!" I tried reaching for it but Karane held me back.

"It's so old, Iona! I know you're small but that doesn't mean you have to wear your kid clothing!" Peatrice put the letter opener down and handed me the new two piece.

"Besides, I'm sure someone will like this new one." Karane said wiggling her eyebrows. I pressed my lips together and took the two piece.

"Fine. Get out." I shoved the two of them out of my room and changed. I pulled my hair into a bun and looked at myself in my mirror. The black two piece didn't look too bad. The bottoms were pretty much short shorts. I knew we would be heading to the pond so I pulled a regular pair of shorts over top my swimsuit bottom. I grabbed a towel and headed downstairs.

I made my way down the spiral stairs and to the dining room. When I got in there Karane and Peatrice had set up a little birthday breakfast for me. There were eggs, bacon, and juice.

"Oh you guys! This looks delicious! Thank you!" I hugged them both and we all sat down and ate. We sat there talking but it was Karane's eyes that gave away someone was behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Instructor Horwell and Instructor Owlan enter the dining area. I turned back around and tried to hide my face. Both Instructors must have been heading towards our table because I could see Karane trying hard not to laugh.

"Hello ladies, getting ready for a good day of swimming? Where's Iona at? We would like to wish her a happy birthday." Instructor Owlan asked us. I guess it's been a while since I've worn anything revealing for our own Instructors to not recognize me.

"Iona's right here!" Peatrice said loudly and grabbing my shoulders forcing me to sit up straight. Both Instructors eyes widened.

"Good morning, Instructors." I bowed my head sheepishly. I knew I should have put a shirt on.

"Well, we wanted to say happy birthday and to give you this." Instructor Owlan held out a small package and inside was a letter of recommendation to the headmaster about me becoming a teaching assistant. I couldn't believe they would do this for me and I got up and hugged both of them.

"Thank you both so much! This means so much to me!" I wrapped my arms around Instructor Horwell. He squeezed me softly and let me go. I saw an odd look cross his face.

"You're very welcome, but Instructor Owlan and I need to go." Both Instructors leaving the dining area.

"That's so cool they gave you that!" Karane said looking over the letter. I smiled thinking about the hug between Instructor Horwell and I. We then cleaned our dishes and headed to the ponds. I laid my towel on the bank and laid face down. Karane then quickly pulled me off the ground.

"C'mon Iona! We wanna play a game!" I sighed but followed them into the water. Soon other students from the Academy joined us. We played a game where you get on someone's shoulders and try to push the other pair into the water. Karane and Pipit were winning too much so I needed to beat them.

"Groose! Be my partner. I know we can beat those two." Groose helped me on his shoulders and soon we battled with Karane and Pipit. It was a hard battle but eventually Groose and I won. We both were cheering and Groose marched around the water with me still on his shoulders. Karane, not liking to lose splashed water into Groose's face and knocking me backwards into the water.

I came up and scowled at Karane.

"Sore loser." I stuck my tongue out and got out of the water. I sat on my towel and laid back on my back, closing my eyes. Soon I heard someone next to me and whisper in my ear.

"The Instructors are watching us." Peatrice said laying on her stomach next to me.

"So? They always have to watch when students are in the water." I sat up and looked to the side where Peatrice was looking. Both Instructors were there talking to each other.

"I think Horwell was checking you out in the dining room earlier." Peatrice said giving me a smug look.

"I doubt it." I stretched my arms. I then felt my top become loose and fall off. I screamed and covered my chest.

"Cawlin, get out of here!" Peatrice shouted and shoved him. Cawlin got off the ground and ran back into the water high fiving Groose and Strich.

Before we knew it both Instructors had run down to the pond to see what had happened. Instructor Owlan went to the water and told Groose, Cawlin, Strich to follow him. Instructor Horwell knelt down next to me. I still had my arms crossed over my chest to keep the top from falling off.

"Are you okay, Iona? What happened?" Instructor Horwell asked me looking me over.

"That jerk, Cawlin came over and untied her swimming top!" Peatrice said behind me while tying the strings again.

"Thank you, Peatrice. I'm fine now Instructor Horwell. Thank you for checking on me." I straightened out my top. I must have pulled it a little too far out because Horwell quickly stood up and looked away.

"You're welcome, Iona. If there are anymore problems let me know." He nodded at us and quickly walked back to his post near the Academy.

"You totally showed him yours boobs." Peatrice giggled sitting back down next to me.

"Oh no. Did I?" I let myself fall backwards and covered my eyes with my arm.

"He must think I'm some crazy horny loser!" I groaned.

"Well, two of those were right." I uncovered my eyes and glared at her.

"C'mon Karane! Time to go!" Peatrice shouted at our friend. Karane was still in the water messing around with Pipit.

"Goddess they are a cute couple." Peatrice gushed. I never met a person who loved love more than her. I gathered my things up and we headed back to the dorms.

I changed into some regular shorts and a light long sleeve shirt. I was getting ready to relax on my bed when I heard knocking at my door.

"Iona! C'mon! Lets go downstairs! We have something to show you!" Peatrice shouted from the other side of my door. I got off my bed and took the towel off my head that was drying my hair and opened the door.

"Hey Peatrice, what is it?" I said trying not smile. I knew it was going to be about the party that Karane accidentally told me about.

"Well if you hurry up I can show you!" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me downstairs. I didn't even have time to shut my door. She dragged me all the way to the dining room and told me to shut my eyes. I did as I was told. She pulled me somewhere and told me to stay put.

"Can I open my eyes?" I was getting impatient.

"No." I heard some rustling around and people giggling.

"Okay, open your eyes now!" Karane shouted. I did as she said and when I opened my eyes I saw all my friends standing around a table covered in gifts and in the middle was a cake.

"Oh wow! Guys, this is amazing! Thank you!" I went to each of my friends and gave them a hug.

"Open your presents, Iona!" Fledge said and handed me a gift. I opened his present first and inside was a pouch to attach to my belt.

"I made it!" He said proudly and I hugged him.

"Thank you, Fledge! It's awesome!" I opened the rest of the presents. My friends had given me things from decorative bottles to cute stuffed animals. Karane cut the cake and gave everyone a slice.

"Should we give slice to each of the Instructors and Headmaster?" I asked Karane.

"Yeah lets do that real quick. I feel like Pipit might eat it all if we don't." We both laughed and gathered up a few plates and headed upstairs. We knocked on Headmaster Gaepora's door and gave him the slice when he answered. He thanked us and we turned and knocked on Instructor Owlan's door next.

When he answered he looked a bit surprised. We offered him the cake which he gladly took.

"Okay, Instructor Horwell is the last one and then we can go finish the party." Karane said loudly.

"Instructor Horwell isn't in right now!" Instructor Owlan said quickly stopping us from knocking on his door.

"Oh, do you know when he'll be back? We're afraid if we leave this cake out Pipit might eat it!" I said laughing at our friend.

"I'm sorry, I don't know when he'll return. I'll hold onto it and give it to him when he returns." Instructor Owlan held out his hand for the plate.

"Okay, Instructor. But if we ask Instructor Horwell how the cake was and said he never got any, you'll be in trouble." Karane said in a mockingly stern voice and handed the plate over.

"Don't worry, ladies. Go enjoy your party." With that he closed the door. We shrugged and went back downstairs to the party. It soon got late and everyone was getting tired. I thanked everyone again and gathered my presents and headed upstairs.

"Iona! Wait up!" Karane caught up with me and we walked to my room.

"Did you have fun?" She asked in an excited voice.

"Yes I did! I got lots of nice presents and partied with my friends." I set my presents on my desk when I noticed something different. Someone had placed an envelope with a small box on my desk. I picked it up and looked it over.

"Hey, do you know where this came from?" I asked Karane and held up the letter. She took it from me and looked it over too.

"Hmmm, no." She handed it back and shrugged. I tried thinking about who could have given me this letter.

"Well open it!" She said loudly. I jumped a bit from her outburst.

"I will!" I pulled out a letter opener and cut the envelope open. I pulled the letter out and read it out loud.

"Dear Iona, I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I wanted to give this to you in person, but I was too nervous. I hope you like it." I put the letter on my desk.

"Well what's in the box?" Karane begged.

"Calm down, I'm gonna open it now." I pulled the top off and inside was a feather quill. It was so beautiful. It was a dark blue that shimmered like glitter. There was also a small vile of dark blue ink to go with it.

"Wow! I'm glad whoever got you that didn't do it at the party! Would have shown everyone up!" Karane laughed and headed towards the door.

"Goodnight, Iona!" Karane walked down to her room and closed the door. I picked the quill up again and looked it over. Who would have spent this much on me? I stretched and decided to take another bath. I gathered my things and went down the hall.

I knocked on the door this time and when no one replied I opened it up.

"Hello? No one's in here right?" I called out but no one replied. I shut the door and went over to the bath. I turned the hot water and grabbed some of the bubble soap that Peatrice had gotten me. It smelled like flowers and I dumped a little into the bath. Soon bubbles were almost flowing over the edge and I turned the water off. I got in and could feel my muscles begin to relax. I put my head under the water to begin washing my hair. After I came back up I heard a soft gasp come from behind me.

"Iona! I'm so sorry!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Nintendo owns all known Characters. I only own Iona.**

"I knocked on the door and no one said anything and when I tried the handle it was unlocked!" Cawlin quickly turned around and ran out of the room.

"He didn't close the door." I frowned at the door. I hoped it was late enough that no one else would be coming in. I got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around myself.

"We need to stop meeting like this Iona." I felt my blood run cold and my spine stiffen. I spun around and was face-to-face with Instructor Horwell.

"I'm sorry! Cawlin ran in here because the lock on the door is broken and he ran out of the room without closing the door and I thought it was late enough that no one would

come in here so I didn't get out to close it and I know I should have to keep things like this from happening!" I started to ramble and I just wanted the ground to open and eat me whole.

"It's not your fault, Iona! It's mine, please shhh!" He tried to calm me down but I just didn't know what to do. I finally got an actual look at him. He always looked amazing no matter the

situation. His hair was taken out of his usual pull back style and he only had on his pajama pants. In his hands he held only a towel and some soap.

"I'm sorry, Instructor. I need to go!" I quickly made my exit and ran down to my room. I closed my door and locked it. I went over to my bed and just laid face down on it.

I hadn't even bothered to change into some pajamas. I just lowly groaned to myself and thought about my luck.

"Goddess why must you embarrass me? Is this punishment for having these feelings? Is he too perfect that only you can have him?" I angrily whispered to myself and hopefully the Goddess heard me too.

Someone started to knock at my door and I groaned. I was still in only a towel.

"Hold on please." I pulled on a tank top and some shorts. I unlocked the door and opened it slightly. The Goddess does hate me.

"You left this in the bathroom." Instructor Horwell handed me a wash cloth and my bubble soap. His beautiful smile still on his face. I took my things and tossed them into a dirty clothes basket.

"I'm sorry again, Iona." I smiled weakly at him. Seeing him only dressed in pajama pants with damp hair was driving me crazy. I felt like my knees were going to give at any moment.

"Thank you for bringing my stuff back to me." He nodded and walked to his room. I couldn't stop myself from checking his ass out. I let out a small whimper and quickly closed my door.

"That man is going to drive me insane." I fell onto my bed and shut the world out.

The sound of people shouting woke me up. I blinked a few times when I heard some more shouting.

"It's not my fault!" It sounded like Cawlin.

"Well what you did the day before was." I heard another voice, more stern though. I got out of bed and opened my door to see what was going on. Outside my door was Cawlin and Instructor Horwell, Instructor Owlan and Headmaster Gaepora.

"It was just a prank! Nothing bad happened!" Cawlin stomped his foot. Karane and Pipit were nearby and I went over to them.

"What's going on?" I asked Karane and watched as Cawlin get more upset. Groose and Strich near by with their arms crossed.

"Yesterday when Cawlin pulled the strings on your swim top. Instructor Horwell and Instructor Owlan brought it up with Headmaster Gaepora. Gaepora said that there must be consequences. So Instructor Horwell told Cawlin that he has to take care of your Academy chores for the rest of the year."

My mouth dropped a little and I felt bad. It was a jerk move on his part. Being the next to graduate I had some of the more responsible and difficult chores. I went over to where they were arguing.

"Headmaster, please may I say something?" The four of them turned their to look at me.

"Yes, Iona. You may." Headmaster Gaepora nodded his head to me.

"I know what Cawlin did was really mean and stupid. But I don't feel like him getting all my chores is fair." Cawlin looked stunned and so did our Instructors and Headmaster.

"You feel like he should get away with this then?" Instructor Owlan questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but a lot of my chores are really difficult and need special attention to details." I knew I was kind of calling Cawlin irresponsible, which he was. Headmaster nodded his head and took the paper that had the Academy chore list.

"Well, Iona. Here is the chore list. Please choose the chores you feel like Cawlin can handle and then give the list back to Horwell or Owlan." Headmaster turned around and went back to his room.

I nodded at our instructors and went back to my room. I looked over the list and chose a few chores that were really simple. There was a soft knock and I called out that they could come in. Cawlin opened the door and came in.

"Iona, I wanted to thank you." He looked down at his feet and shifted his weight.

"You're welcome." That's all I felt I could say. He looked a bit nervous and he left my room. Cawlin has a real problem with closing doors. I finished the chore list and walked over to Instructor Owlan's room. I didn't want to go to Instructor Horwell's room, I was still to embarrassed. I knocked a few times but no one answered.

I sighed to myself because I knew I had to go to Instructor Horwell's room. I knocked on his door softly. Hopefully he wouldn't hear and I could give it to Instructor Owlan later. Luck wasn't on my side though. Instructor Horwell opened the door and smiled down at me.

"Iona, how can I help you?" I looked down at my feet and handed the clipboard to him. He took if from me looking it over.

"I finished the chore list." He set it down on a nearby table and looked back to me. I was afraid of being around him. Whenever I am, I embarrass myself to the point I question how I'm still alive. I nodded my head at him and turned to walk back to my room, but I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Iona, wait. I needed to talk to you. Come, take a walk with me." I looked back to him as he closed his door. He gestured towards the entryway and we headed outside. We made our way around the island in silence until we found ourselves up at Waterfall Cave. We sat down on one of the fallen logs in silence. It was him who finally decided to speak up.

"Iona, I wanted to know why you defended Cawlin." Instructor Horwell looked confused. I would be too if I were him. In a way I did defend the person who pulled the strings on my top almost exposing my breasts to everyone.

"It was just a stupid prank. He didn't mean to hurt me. Just embarrass me. Or he was dared by Groose. But I wasn't hurt." I shrugged my shoulders and tried to look anywhere but at him. I always loved Waterfall Cave. Karane and I would come here when we were little to collect stones and other treasures. Listening to the falling of the water always calmed me down too.

"Prank or dare, he still should be punished. You let him off easy." Instructor Horwell seemed displeased with me, almost disappointed. I held my head down a little lower for disappointing him. I didn't want Instructor Horwell to upset with me for any reason. I knew he would never have any feelings for me past teacher/student, but it wasn't better than nothing.

"Maybe, but now he knows what can happen if he does it again. All of them do." I got off the log and went over to the stream. Instructor Horwell followed me and stood behind me.

"You're a very compassionate person. I admire that greatly. It's one of my favorite traits of yours." He was right behind me. He was so close to me. I felt my breathing get faster. I didn't know what to do. If I leaned back a little I would be against his chest. I wanted to be in his arms so badly and I was so close.

"There's a lot about that I like. You're an amazing young woman, Iona. You'll do great things in life." I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. His fingertips had brushed up my arm when he placed his hand on my shoulder. I didn't know what to do. Should I step away or lean in?

"You've never been in trouble. I've never had to punish you." The way he said punish sent shivers up my spine and I couldn't control closing my eyes. It felt like my heart was going to jump right out of my chest. I let my head fall back slightly and my lips parted slightly. Suddenly I felt him move away from me and I straightened myself up. He was looking towards the pathway and moved a few feet away from me.

I was confused but then I heard someone's voice. It sounded like someone was calling for me.

"Iona! Where are you? Headmaster wants to talk to you!" It sounded like Pipit. I looked to Instructor Horwell and he nodded his head at me. I made my way down the path towards the voice and found Pipit.

"There you are! Headmaster has been looking for you! He says it's important. Something about you graduating soon." Pipit looked both excited and concerned. My eyes widened at the news and ran off towards the Academy.

I knocked on Headmaster Gaepora's door and heard him say come in. I walked into his room and sat in the chair he gestured towards. He had a stack of papers in front of him that he was looking over. Before I could ask what he needed his door opened and Instructor Horwell and Instructor Owlan came in. I felt myself blush thinking about Instructor Horwell being near me again.

"Iona, I've called you in here to talk to you about graduating early. I know that you don't want to become a knight, but instead an instructor. Is that something you would like to do?" Headmaster Gaepora raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, Iona. Instead of graduating in 3 months, you will graduate in a week. Then you will help Horwell and I with our classes. Things like grading papers, preparing lessons, and teaching the classes. We'll then have you decided on a class you would like to hold yourself. I have herbology and Horwell has ethology." Instructor Owlan handed me a folder filled with papers about their classes and their syllabus'.

"That sounds amazing! I would love to graduate early." Headmaster Gaepora had a big smile on his face and stood up. He came from around his desk and came over to me. I stood up and shook his hand. I turned to Instructor Owlan and shook his hand and then shook Instructor Horwell's. I felt as though I held his hand a little longer than I should have.

"Well then! We'll get all the papers ready and you'll be teaching in no time." Headmaster led me to his door and I went out into the hall. I couldn't believe what has happened. I would graduate early and become an instructor soon too. I sat on my bed looking through the papers. What would I teach? Maybe geology? I loved rocks and collecting them. I knew a lot about them. I was deep in thought thinking about teaching that the sound knocking on my door frightened me. I got up and opened my door to see Instructor Horwell standing there concern filling his eyes.

"I need to speak to you about becoming a teaching assistant. May I come in?" I nodded and moved aside letting him come in. I closed the door and went back to my bed.

Instructor Horwell sat down next me and put his hands in his lap.

"Well you see, I want you to become a teacher's assistant. You'll be great at it and I know you'll be very helpful to both Owlan and I. But I don't know if you should." I was shocked at what he had just told me. He wasn't even looking at me. How could he say this?

"Why? Instructor Horwell, why would you say that?" I sounded angry and I was. This is something I wanted and for him to come in and tell me he didn't think I should? Why and who was he to say that?

"This is something I've been working for! And I've been working hard on it. I can't believe you would come and tell me this. Out of everyone I thought you would be the most supportive. What happened?" I just kept running on and on, my anger get more intense. Though he found a way to shut me up. He grabbed my face and pressed his lips against mine. I was so shocked my mouth opened a bit and he slid his tongue into my mouth.

I got over my shock and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. He smiled against my lips and pulled me into his lap. His tongue still in my mouth and dominating mine. I knew I was a bad kisser, I've never kissed anyone before. He ran his hand through my hair and tugged on it gently. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me.

"Shhh, Iona. You'll get us caught." My eyes snapped open and I jumped off of him. Instructor Horwell looked confused and hurt. My breathing was so fast and it felt like my heart was going to explode. Instructor Horwell smoothed himself out and patted the spot next to him on the bed. I reluctantly sat down.

"That's why I don't want you to be an assistant. Gaepora doesn't want teachers involved with one another. Especially not with students. And even though you wont technically be either, you will be an instructor soon. But if you stay a student and become a knight we could be together. I mean, if you want to be with me." I've never seen him look so nervous, even a bit scared. My mind reeled at the thought that Instructor Horwell did have feelings for me.

The man who occupied my dreams and thoughts, had confessed he had feelings for me too. Was I dreaming again? Was the Goddess being extra cruel to me? I was so lost in my thoughts that Instructor Horwell must have taken my silence as a bad thing. He stood up and pulled me into his arms and kissed me again.

"I know you have feelings for me too. Not just because you kissed back. I've known for a while. You gave me the necklace." He touched the green carved necklace around his throat. My eyes widened when he said that.

"H-how? How did you know it was me?" I stuttered and tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold on me. He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead.

"I've seen your handwriting many times, Iona." For the first time ever, I saw him with a smug smile. I dropped my head against his chest and sighed.

"Iona, I need to know what you are going to do. Please tell me." He dropped his arms from my waist and took a step back. What was I going to do?

**How is it coming along, guys? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Nintendo owns all known characters. I only own Iona.**

Horwell stood there waiting for my answer. An answer I didn't have. I wanted to be an instructor for so long, but I also wanted Instructor Horwell for so long too. I started chewing on my lower lip thinking over my options.

"I don't know." I crossed my arms and looked down at my feet. Instructor Horwell came over to me and wrapped his arms around me again. Pulling me close to him and kissed the top of my head.

"It's alright. We'll think of something. We need to keep quiet about this though. If Gaepora hears he'll be very upset." I nodded my head and looked up into his eyes. His hazel eyes are so beautiful, I could stare in them forever.

"Should I call you Instructor anymore?" I laughed and his turned mischievous.

"Only in the classroom," he got closer to me ear, "and sometimes in the bedroom depending on the mood." He kissed my ear and stood up straight. I felt myself blush hard. Hearing him talk like this reminded me of my dream of him. I wonder if I should ever tell him that. Should I tell him about anything I've thought about him, or done?

"Iona, if you ever need me please don't hesitate." He pulled me into another tight hug and whispered in my ear, "I'll always help you with any problems." I felt his hand on my ass and squeeze it gently. When I pulled away I didn't expect to see such a sweet and innocent smile on his face. He walked over to my door and left. My head felt like it was going to explode. My world feels like it has been turned upside down. I still didn't know what I was going to do. I left my room and went over to Karane's, knocking on her door gently.

"Um, hold on a sec!" I heard some shuffling around and then something fall. I stood there awkwardly looking around the hall waiting for her to open the door. Finally the door swung open and Karane looked flushed.

"Hey Iona! Sorry about that, I was uh, working out." Karane looked confused at her own answer. I narrowed my eyes at her and waited for her to let me in. She looked a bit nervous and didn't move.

"May I come in?" I asked. She looked back into her room and back at me.

"Maybe later? Okay? I'm gonna work out some more. I'm trying to beat Pipit in arm wrestling. Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you later." Karane quickly shut the door. Again I stood there awkwardly and a bit confused. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was close to dinner time. I went downstairs to see how Fledge was doing. I knocked on his door and heard him shout come in.

"Hey, Fledge how's it-" I walked into his room and stopped dead when I saw him trying to do pushups. It looked like he was struggling.

"Fledge, are you okay?" He looked up at me and got off the ground. He grabbed a nearby towel and wiped his forehead.

"Sorry about that. Link had to help me lift some barrels and it made me feel bad. I need to bulk up so I can do things myself." He crossed his arms and looked embarrassed. I felt bad for him. He did get teased a lot for being weak. I was happy to see him make a change in his life. Fledge was a good guy, I could see why Peatrice like him.

"Well, I'll let you get back to it then." I turned back to the door and left. I didn't know what to do with myself. Everyone seemed to be busy. I walked over to the dining room and sat in front of the fire place. I stared into the flames thinking back to what Horwell said. I want to be with him more than anything. These rules are stupid. My eyes began to burn from staring into the fire for so long. I had to make up my mind and I would do it tonight.

Karane soon joined me by the fire. She handed me a plate of food and we ate in silence. Finally it was eating at me and I needed to ask her.

"What were you actually doing in your room? I know you weren't working out. So why are you lying?" Karane's eyes widened with my accusation. Her eyes jittered around the room, looking anywhere but me. When she did make eye contact she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Pipit was in my room. We were, uh-" I held my hand up to stop her.

"Please don't go on. But I need to tell you something. It has to be in my room or something." We got up from the hearth and went up to my room. I locked my door and sat on the floor with her.

"What I'm about to tell you needs to stay in this room. Not even Peatrice can know. So if you tell anyone I will kill you." Karane straightened up at the seriousness of my voice. She quickly nodded her head at me.

"Instructor Horwell came to me and told me that he didn't think it would be a good idea if I became an assistant." Karane's jaw dropped.

"Why would he say that?! You'd be a great assistant and then you'd be a great instructor!" Her voice was a little loud and grabbed a pillow to smack her with.

"Shh. The reason he said that was because," I bit my lip and looked up at her, "Headmaster Gaepora doesn't want there to be relationships between instructors." I closed my eyes and I felt her grab my arm and shake me a bit.

"Iona! Oh my Goddess! Iona! I cannot believe it. It happened! Oh my Goddess!" Karane kept shaking me and giggling. We sat there for a few hours talking about our boyfriends and somewhat boyfriends. She told me about how Pipit gave her some flowers with a poem. How he takes her to the Lumpy Pumpkin on karaoke nights and sings with her. It was so cute and I almost felt like I would puke. It was starting to get late and I wanted to talk to Horwell soon.

"Well I'm gonna go visit Pipit before bed." We stood up and hugged and she left my room. I decided to wait until it was late enough where everyone would most likely be in bed and asleep. I picked up a book and read. It felt like ages and truthfully I hadn't read a page in the book. I was too busy thinking about what I would say to him. Honestly I wasn't even sure what I would say. It has been tearing me apart all day. I looked at my clock and it read 1:00am. I got out of bed and put on some shorts and a tank top. I opened my door quietly and tip toed across the hall. I knocked on Horwell's door softly and waited for him to answer. I heard a soft voice say come in. I opened the door quickly and shut it slowly. I was afraid to turn around, I still had doubt in my mind. When I did turn I was met with an amazing sight.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me." Horwell was laying on his side on his bed with his head resting on his propped elbow. His hair spread out around him and a smug smile across his face. I couldn't help the smile on mine and I walked over to his bed.

"Horwell, I made my decision." He sat up in his bed and I sat down next to him. I stared deep into those beautiful hazel eyes. I tried to form the words but I just couldn't.

"I love hearing you say my name." He brought his lips to my shoulder and kissed up my neck to my ear. I let out a soft moan and bit my lower lip. He brought a finger up to my lips and pulled away from me.

"Iona, do I need to remind you? We have to be quiet." He pressed his forehead to mine and lightly kissed my lips. I finally decided it was time to tell him. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Horwell, about my decision. I want to be with you. I want it badly, but I can't be a knight. I want to be an instructor. Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He pursed his lips and looked at the floor.

"The only way that I can think of is us sneaking around. We would only get to be together at night or rendezvous." I nodded my head and thought about what he had said.

"Lets do that then. Lets sneak around. I'll get to teach and we'll be together. Hopefully we'll get Gaepora to change his mind and we have to hide." I squeezed his hand again and looked into his eyes again. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on my shoulder.

"If you think this is best. I would do anything to be with you." He pulled my face close to his and kissed me again. Deeper and harder this time. He pulled me into his lap and ran his hands up and down my back. His hand running up the back of my head and tugged lightly on my hair. I moaned softly and wrapped my arms around his neck. He continued to kiss my neck and tug on my hair. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and pulled me closer. He rolled his hips against mine and I couldn't control the moan that escaped my lips. It was louder than I meant it to be. I felt him smirk against my neck and he pulled away. The smug smile on his face let me know he did it on purpose.

"Iona, I didn't realize you were such a loud moaner in bed. I'll have to pick something up to help us with that." He kissed me again and bit my lower lip. I blushed hard, thinking back to my dream. Horwell laid back on his bed and pulled me with him. I laid my head on his chest and ran my fingers up and down his chest. My fingers lingering on his waistline and trailing over the top of his pajama pants. I got a little more bold and ran my hand up and down his thigh. I bit my lip when I heard his breath hitch.

"You're going to drive me insane. If you keep doing that, I'll have to get you back." Horwell whispered to me. He ran his fingers under my top and across my back. His fingers ran down my back and to the top of my ass. He slipped his hand down the back of my shorts and cupped my ass. We laid in silence him kneading my ass every now and then.

"So, what does Karane think of our relationship?" Horwell asked. I choked a little when he asked that.

"How did you know?" I propped myself up on my elbow. He smiled again and propped himself on both of his elbows.

"She's your best friend. I'm sure you two talk about everything." Horwell pulled me on top of him and squeezed me. I giggled softly and rested my forehead against his chest.

"She said finally. And you're right, I have told her how much I like you and my dreams." I slapped a hand over my mouth.

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" I could hear the smugness in his voice. I closed my eyes let out a reluctant sigh.

"That night I walked in on you in the bath. My dream was that you came to me and said you had to talk to me. We went to your room and you locked the door. You confessed your love to me and I confessed back. We got touchy and you made me moan. You said that if I couldn't keep quiet you would have to get a gag or... something else to keep my mouth busy. And that either way, you wanted to see how far my lips could stretch." I blushed again and hid my face in his arm.

"Mmm, I like that. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll tell you some of the dreams I've had about us." I shot up and looked at him, eyebrows raised in shock.

"What? Did you think I just decided one day to be attracted to you? Who do you think gave you that quill?" I looked at him in disbelief. I should have known it was him.

"Well, who have you told?" I had told him a too many things and he hasn't told me much.

"Owlan is happy I'll finally stop slinking into your room when you're not there. Though he got upset with me when I stole these." He reached under his pillow and pulled out my favorite pair of black underwear. He handed it to me with a wink.

"You stole my underwear?" I was so shocked, I couldn't even form words. He took them back from me and put them back under his pillow.

"I want to keep those. They've helped me a few nights. I'm sorry though." He pulled me back down and kissed me hard. He pulled a thin blanket over us and held me tight.

"Sleep tight, Iona." He kissed the top of my head and closed his eyes. I snuggled closer to him.

"Goodnight, Horwell." I shut my eyes and soon fell asleep.

**I would really appreciate some comments on how this is story is going. Please r/r**


	7. Update

Hey guys!

Sorry it's taking a while to update.

I'm making Christmas presents for my family.

So I'll update when I get a chance!


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